Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania

Source: Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania

The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania was established under the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania, adopted by referendum on 25 October 1992. The Court was formed and began its activities in 1993, after the Law on the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania was adopted. Since its establishment, the Court has been located in Vilnius. The Court consists of 9 justices, each appointed for a single nine-year term of office. Every three years, one-third of the Constitutional Court is reconstituted: the Parliament (Seimas) appoints three justices from the candidates submitted by the President of the Republic, the Speaker of the Seimas, and the President of the Supreme Court.

Lithuania was the first of the countries occupied by the Soviet Union to declare its independence on 11 March 1990. The restored independence of Lithuania was first recognised by Moldova, followed by Iceland and Denmark, and subsequently by other countries of the world. Lithuania is situated along the south eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. It is bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, Poland to the south, and Kaliningrad Oblast (a Russian enclave) to the southwest. Lithuania is the largest and most populous of the three Baltic States. It covers the area of 65 286 km2 and has a population of 2.9 million. It is a parliamentary republic and has been a member of the European Union since 2004. The official language of the state is Lithuanian.